1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is broadly concerned with apparatus and methods for inversion of bodies, and particularly pork bellies during processing thereof. More particularly, the invention is concerned with such apparatus and methods wherein a body to be inverted is directed towards a rotatable drum, the body is clamped to the drum, and through further rotation of the drum the body is inverted and deposited onto exit structure permitting downstream processing of the body.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In conventional processing of pork bellies, the skinned bellies are placed on a first moving belt. Trimmers working astride the belt trim and detail the moving bellies. Next, the bellies are manually inverted and placed on a second belt so as to expose the undersides of the bellies on the second belt. The second belt runs slower than the first belt, creating an inversion/transfer point which is dangerous and can lead to hand injuries. Additional workers downstream of the inversion/transfer point can then trim the now-exposed undersides of the bellies. After this trimming operation, the bellies are commonly brined for production of bacon. The manual inversion process is highly labor-intensive, owing to the fact that the bellies typically weigh 16-24 lbs. Hence, the personnel inverting the bellies are prone to over-exertion and repetitive motion injuries.
There is accordingly a real and unsatisfied need for apparatus to carry out pork belly inversions without the need for significant manual labor. However, providing such equipment is not a straightforward matter. This stems from the fact that the bellies are of varying weights and dimensions, and moreover may be in different conditions, e.g., partially frozen or completely fresh.